Rogue Met cop ‘in Derry’ during 1995 parades dispute: claim

It's been claimed the undercover Met officer was in Derry during the August 1995 parades dispute.

Published:18:00Friday 02 March 2018

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A rogue Metropolitan Police officer is understood to have been operating undercover in Derry during the city’s parades dispute in the mid 1990s.

It’s believed the covert ‘Met’ cop was in the city at the height of the parades controversy in August, 1995.

It’s been claimed he was spotted in the vicinity of Magazine Street when the RUC forcibly removed demonstrators from Derry’s Walls to allow an Apprentice Boys parade through.

The revelation comes amid calls for an investigation into rogue covert police officers to be broadened to include Northern Ireland.

The Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI) is examining the conduct of Metropolitan Police officers in England and Wales.

It was ordered after revelations that officers had formed intimate relationships with social justice and environmental campaigners.

Home Secretary, Amber Rudd and Northern Ireland Secretary, Karen Bradley, have been urged to extend the investigation across the Irish Sea.

It comes after the Scottish Justice Secretary, Michael Matheson, called for the inquiry to look at the activities of English and Welsh police units in Scotland.

After initial denials, it was confirmed that members of the units worked in Northern Ireland, without the knowledge of local police.

Grainne Teggart, from Amnesty Northern Ireland, said the ongoing absence of Stormont ministers must not stop important decisions being taken.

“Activities of undercover police were not limited to England and Wales, so nor should the inquiry,” she added.

“Two previous Justice Ministers (Claire Sugden and David Ford) have called for the extension of the inquiry, which we believe must now happen urgently. Given the potential significant implications for legacy investigations, this is all the more important. The need for full transparency and accountability of policing in Northern Ireland must not be compromised.”

Jason Kirkpatrick, an environmental activist who was targeted by a rogue Met officer, is currently engaged in a legal challenge to force the inquiry to be extended to Northern Ireland.

Paul O’Connor, of the Derry-based Pat Finucane Centre, believes the enquiry should be broadened to include N. I.

“All activites by rogue Met police in Northern Ireland should be divulged,” he said.